


Blow Off Some Steam

by sophoklesworld



Category: Leverage
Genre: Christmas Presents, Implied Canon-Typical Violence, Leverage Secret Santa Gift Exchange 2019, Minor Misunderstandings, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 16:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21916108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophoklesworld/pseuds/sophoklesworld
Summary: Eliot's away undercover for a job. Parker and Hardison use the chance to find a Christmas present.Hardison is not quite as clever as he thinks he is.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60
Collections: 2019 Leverage Secret Santa Exchange





	Blow Off Some Steam

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_original_n_chan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_original_n_chan/gifts).

> This is a fic for the_original_n_chan.  
I hope you enjoy it! Happy holidays!

Sometimes, Hardison hated how boring their job could get. He didn’t have anything to do, except from drinking his orange soda, and monitoring Eliot’s recon. He’d already went through everything he found on the internet. _Everything_. He had literal tens of terabytes of information collected on the target. He’d latch onto the next best thing Eliot could get. But he hasn’t gotten any new intel in the past few _days_.

This was a long-running con. And it was grating on everyone’s nerves. Especially Eliot’s, because he was the only one actually in the field, at this time point. Parker was tinkering about while masterminding. By now, she had set up more contingency plans than the alphabet had letters. Most of them would prove useless, as soon as they got at least some more information. Hardison had been playing his keyboard like he’d played his violin and now his song was coming to a very unsatisfying end.

Hitting his head on the keyboard, Hardison groaned. His fingers itched to log onto his steam account and play a round of WoW or Don’t Starve, Together. He’d even play a level of Lego Star Wars, at this point (he’d lie, if he didn’t think it was fun. Just way less interactive than other games). But he couldn’t leave Eliot without at least some communicational backup. Not with these guys.

"Stay strong, Hardison! Stay strong. Eliot being in close quarters with black book bad guys is way more important than gaming!", he muttered to himself.

Over his comm, he heard Eliot’s snort. "Appreciated."

The small reaction, as much as it sounded like an eye-roll, held some amount of gratitude. It was enough for now, to not let himself be dragged away by his own boredom. Instead, Hardison thought he could use the chance to think about Christmas presents.

Parker was easy. The obvious answer was always money. But he knew she liked their version of dates, and for that, as much as he didn’t want to do this, he decided to get her tickets for bungee jumping in the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t a skyscraper. But maybe they could make a road trip out of this. Ending it with a week at Nate and Sophie’s new base of operation (they hadn’t been able to live a normal life for very long). For those two, Hardison had already acquired a couple of fancy wines and a voucher for a dinner at a fancy restaurant. He had a few surprises planned already, chef bribed and waiters awaiting his signal. Old people and their tastes were mostly predictable, even if a bit weird.

Now, Eliot was the real problem. Maybe Hardison could convince Eliot to take the second bungee jump instead of him. That would make his life quite a bit easier. Because what did you gift someone who’s sole source of happiness in life seems to be making sure the two most important people in their life are safe.

He thought of food, because Eliot loved food. But what greater food related present could he give Eliot, after he already gave him the Brewpub? As grudgingly as Eliot had accepted this gift, as much as all of them pretended that it wasn’t. That it wasn’t a present, an invitation and a plea for Eliot to stay with them. To have something else to fall back to. Something he could pretend he needed to keep from falling apart. A reason to stay that wasn’t 'I _want to stay with you'_. Because that’s not how Eliot worked.

Even though, lately, he was starting to. He’s been getting more open with declarations that could have been too dangerous two years ago, even three months ago. But it wasn’t now. Because even after Nate and Sophie left, Parker and Hardison wouldn’t send him away, as much as he seemed to expect it.

Whenever he went off the grid for a while, they’d just welcome him back with open arms, enveloping him in a warm hug. The declarations, baring their feelings, weren’t as dangerous anymore, because now somehow, they migrated from passing out in the living room because neither wanted to leave either of the others alone, to just sleeping in the same bed altogether. They have migrated to slow and tender kisses, affection that has been there all along, deepened and extended.

Hardison smiled, his heart fluttering a bit, remembering the last night before Eliot started on the job. The smile turned sad, soon, because _it’s been a week_. And it wasn’t just Eliot needing his alone time, which they understood, this was Eliot being in constant danger, undercover, for over a week. Hardison hated it. He knew Parker did, too.

Shaking his head, Hardison tried to focus. Presents. He needed a Christmas present for Eliot. Or they, he assumed. Parker mentioned, she didn’t have a present for him, yet.

  
Distantly, he heard half of Eliot’s conversation with one lackey or another. It ended with a goodbye and the muffled closing of a door.

"I need to blow off some steam", Eliot grumbled through the comm. It sounded like it was meant for only Hardison’s ear. His voice low but soft. He couldn’t fault Eliot for that. Must be tough between all those greasy assholes.

  
And just like that, right in that moment, a solution presented itself to Hardison. Operation Christmas Presents was a go!

"I know, Eliot", he answered belatedly. "Hold tight, okay? I’m sorry, but I gotta go for a bit, okay? I’ll be back in 10 minutes. You gonna be fine until I’m back?"

"You know?", Eliot sounded bewildered. Then he sighed, "Yeah. I’ll be fine. Hardison? Eat something real, will you? I can hear you crunching on those nasty chemical _things_."

Laughing, Hardison replied, "Alright. Be right back!"

***

"Parker, babe?"

"I’m here", her voice echoed out of the vent in their bedroom."

"What are you doing back there?", Hardison asked curiously, kneeling down to look into the duct.

All he could see was a rope leading down into a crossing duct. Suddenly, Parker’s face peaked up to look at him. Her hair disheveled and her eyes glimmering.

"Goddammit, woman!", Hardison couldn’t help but yell, as a bright light hit him right in the face. "I need my eyesight to hack for you, thank you very much!"

"I’m installing traps, lasers and cams", Parker cheerily answers his initial question.

"That’s — cool!", Hardison replies, not certain if there’s ever gonna be anyone coming for them whose first instinct will be to attack through ventilation systems, but he wouldn’t want to jinx it. Their lives were messy, at times. "Listen, babygirl. You wanna come find some bad guys with me?"

Parker eyed him, with the same amount of anticipation as suspicion. "Why?"

"Well, we didn’t know what to get Eliot for Christmas. He just said he wants to 'blow off some steam'. I think this job is driving him up the walls, the way it’s dragging on. And he could do the blowing off some steam by punching some unrelated bad guys."

"Ohh, that’s a fun idea! Do I get to be the damsel in distress?"

Lately, Parker liked to play the bait. In the beginning, Hardison hadn’t really understood why, but one time he caught a glimpse at a camera with just the right angle. On the tape, Parker’s lips pulled up just the slightest but he could read the satisfaction clear as day in her eyes. Since then, he had his suspicions that Parker’s love for these roles had to do less with the role itself and more with Eliot barging in like an avenging angel. Not that he blamed her, really.

Hardison grinned, "Of course, babe. You coming out so we can eat together or you wanna stay in the vent ’til I found us some bad guys?"

Parker’s smile was brilliant. "I’ll be up in five. What are we having? Cereals?"

"Parker, we have a literal brewpub! We are not having cereal for lunch!"

Damn this woman and her capability to get him to do anything with that pout.

"No cereal but we can watch Doctor Who", her conceded.

***

They found some bad guys right on time.

The target surprisingly let most his staff go on vacation for Christmas, including, miraculously, the 'new guy' Eliot (Parker had prodded Hardison until he hacked into the system and fake-granted vacation times for all the low-level employees. The higher-ups were currently having a not-so-merry Christmas, with their CEO breathing down their necks, asking why everyone else was on vacation approved in their names.

So now, Eliot was coming home for Christmas. Hardison was picking him up at the airport, while Parker made her way to a local baddie.

Airports around Christmas time where hell. But for Eliot, Hardison suffered through. Standing within a crowd of noisy people, he contemplated pulling a fire alarm so he could get Eliot in peace. Or maybe get access to the staff area.

While was still thinking about it though, he saw Eliot coming out through the gates into the waiting area. It was a relief to see him healthy again in person, even if he looked exhausted.

"Eliot!", he couldn’t help but yell, "Eliot!"

Cursing at himself because the last time his voice had sounded this high, he’d been hanging off the side of a building, he waved his hands in the air.

He wasn’t hard to spot for Eliot, towering over most the people.

The blinding smile he received when their eyes met was heartwarming and not something he’d seen very often.

It made him hope, that maybe Eliot wasn’t going to push him away immediately when he was hugging him. Because, hell yeah, he was gonna hug him.

Tracking Eliot’s movements, Hardison fought his way through the crowd towards Eliot. As soon as the other man had passed the last checkpoint, Hardison immediately embraced him to catch him off guard. Surprisingly, Eliot’s arms wrapped around his back and squeezed tightly.

After three seconds (Hardison counted, it was their longest embrace ever, not counting tangled limbs in the closed quarters of their home and bed), Eliot kindly but determinedly pushed him back, putting enough distance between them to look Hardison up and down.

Hardison chuckled, "I haven’t been beaten up, if that’s what you’re worried about."

"Yeah, right", Eliot snorted in response. "I’m making sure your skinny ass got enough food while I wasn’t around to provide for you."

For a moment, they just smiled at each other. Suddenly, the mood turned heavy and Eliot’s gaze darker and heated. Shaking his head, breaking the tension, Hardison realized they were still at the airport.

Grinning, Eliot added, "It’s good to see you. Good to be back."

"Good to have you back."

***

"Oh, almost forgot", Hardison exclaimed, making a sudden right-turn and leaving the familiar route leading home.

"Forgot what?", Eliot asked grumpily, while trying to hold himself in his seat.

"Parker, she took on another job. We’re luring out some bad guys who threatened one of the neighboring shops."

Eliot looked at him, shock, annoyance, and anger battling on his face. Hardison just grinned at him. They had everything planned, into the smallest details, so nothing would go wrong. Everything was fine, and Eliot was on his way.

Eliot, who saw this whole thing a little differently.

  
"You let Parker go in there alone? _Without _backup?"

"Relax, man, she’s fine. We set everything up, tons of contingencies, I’m completely in the loop."

Hardison gestured in the general direction of the computer system in the back of Lucille. "It’s the age of the geek. She’s not alone."

"**_Dammit, Hardison!_**"

Okay, maybe he deserved that one. Letting Parker go there, on her own. But Eliot needed to punch people. Eliot wanted to blow off some steam. The way he was clutching his seat right now, Eliot very desperately needed to punch some people.

A few minutes later, for once not arguing with Eliot, egging him on, Hardison stopped the car with screeching tires in front of a warehouse.

Grinning at Eliot who was already halfway out of the car, he asked, "You wanna go punch some bad guys?"

Sniggering at the lack of a response, Hardison called after him, "Into the warehouse the first door to the right!"

Unbuckling and grabbing the bag from the back, Hardison locked Lucille and followed Eliot at a much more sedated pace.

***

When Hardison entered the room, he was glad he could pull up everything from the security camera he hacked and recorded.

The sight in front of him was prettier than the first and second David, prettier than Mettier’s 'Ma Mystere’ and the whole collection in the current exhibit in the Louvre (he may be biased, sue him).

Eliot was still working off steam. Groaning and crying men littering the ground at his feet. There were nine bad guys. More than expected, but Hardison wouldn’t complain. The more the merrier. It was Christmas after all.

The last man standing was holding up surprisingly well, considering his opponent was an angry Eliot.

Hardison didn’t really care about that just yet. His eyes were on Parker. Her eyes were glued to Eliot, her smile a combination of shit-eating grin and adoring devotion. Quietly, Hardison snapped a picture, thinking he had made her a Christmas present as well, before turning to look at Eliot. He was working as efficiently as always, never letting his opponent through his guard more than necessary. He really did look like an avenging angel and he was beautiful.

The best thing about this, Hardison thought, was that he was _their_ avenging angel. He’d always do whatever it takes to keep them safe. And they would keep him safe.

That wasn’t a new revelation, but Hardison knew more than ever, that it was true

He smiled and he felt it mirroring this certainty. The moment the last bad guy looked at Hardison, the fight went out of him, and he wondered if the smiled conveyed something dangerous.

The guy went down like a sack of potatoes, and Hardison made his way over to Parker, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

With all the bad guys taken down, Eliot turned around, looking at Parker, making sure she’s alright, looking at Hardison. Looking at their combined grins.

Still breathing heavily, he managed a toneless, "What."

"Merry Christmas!", Parker was first to answer. "Did you like your Christmas present?"

  
"My— _What?_", again, there was bewilderment in Eliot’s voice. Confusion.

There wasn’t anger in his voice but it was close. Hardison felt the urge to defend their present.

"Well, you said you wanted to blow off some steam! So we thought, a few bad guys to punch. That’s how you blow off steam!"

Eliot seemed to be choking on air. It took him a moment to speak. "You-. Dammit, Hardison, you’re the _smartest man I know_!"

Eliot was laughing now. Parker and Hardison were the ones to share a confused look.

His voice suddenly serious and tight, Eliot asked "You thought, I’d like to see either of you hurt, just so you could punch some bad guys?"

  
"That’s how we get to the bad guys, isn’t it?", Parker’s voice is unapologetic. Factual.

"Parker", Eliot says. Then breaks off and shakes his head. Looks at Hardison.

  
Again, his gaze becomes heated, and his next words are deep, soft, just like a week ago over the comm. "I meant sex, Hardison. I meant Parker, you and me."

There was silence, for a moment, then, Hardison softly voices, "Oh."

Parker rounds on him, "You couldn’t read his _voice_?"

Now she’s laughing at him, too.

"Even though you’ve been whining how you’re missing him, every night?"

Hardison slaps his hand over his face. He’s glad no one can see his embarrassed blush. He groans, but immediately pushes away unwanted thoughts, leaving his brain work on the problem at hand: getting home asap. They’re here already, they’ve taken down the bad guys already, they can plant the evidence where it needs to go and call the police. Give or take five minutes, plus another ten to get home. Seemed reasonable.

First things first though. Striding over to Eliot, he plants a kiss on his mouth. "Sorry, I misread your voice. I have no excuse."

"It’s alright", comes the breathless answer. Suddenly, Parker is pressing between them, demanding her own kiss.

"Now", Hardison interrupted after a while, "the faster you help me plant the evidence, the faster we can go home!"

"What are you saying, Parker, we let Hardison do this stuff, and head home already?", Eliot suggested, even though he was already taking the bag out of Hardison’s hand.

***

"Hey", Eliot held Hardison back, when they were getting into Lucille. "I do appreciate the sentiment. And it was really nice to get to punch some bad guys again."

Hardison smiled.

"Lets go home, shall we?"

  
"Yeah, let’s go home."


End file.
